Boys golf season preview: Scouting DuPage County and Fox

It's going to take a tough act to match how the 2023 boys golf season ended with Conant's Nicolas Simon winning the Class 3A state championship by one stroke, and Marmion's Regan Konen doing the same in 2A.

Fortunately, there's no shortage of talented players and teams looking forward to a similar moment.

Aurora Christian

The Eagles graduated state qualifier Wil McCracken off a regional championship team. Juniors Jacob Baumann and Niko Kaplanis should lead the way.

Bartlett

Senior Daniel Ryniec returns for the Hawks after winning last year's Upstate Eight Conference tournament title. Senior Robby Coyne is a returning all-conference player for fifth-year coach Chris Pemberton.

Batavia

Junior Ryan Augustine is back after an all-conference season and strong play this summer. After graduating nine seniors, Batavia is going to need some new players to step up, and coach Tim Debruycker will look to sophomore Noah Marshall and junior Mason Whitt to be two of them.

Burlington Central

Coach Thomas Davies has been pointing towards this season with a senior-dominated team that brings plenty of talent and experience. The Rockets are poised to contend for their first FVC championship and another trip to the 2A state tournament where they finished ninth a year ago.

Junior Tyler Samaan is fresh off a great summer when he qualified for nationals in Louisiana. He was all-conference last year, as was senior Matthew Kowalik.

Both were part of the state qualifying team along with seniors Cam Sarallo, Luke Semyck, Ben Chesney and sophomore Tommy Wyse – all back in this year's lineup. Davies said the team is excited for what the season could bring but must manage expectations and earn everything.

Benet

Veteran coach Marty Gaughan returns three of his top six players looking to get back to the top of the East Suburban Catholic. Senior Charlie Davenport finished 12th at the Class 3A state tournament last year and was the ESCC champion.

Senior Billy Tierney and all-conference junior Luck Donovan also return.

Cary-Grove

Coach Chris Gotsch begins his 11th year with three key returners. Joey Boldt made it to state last year as a junior, junior Conner Lentz reached sectionals and had a great summer in MCJGA play, and senior Brock Iverson earned all-FVC. Gotsch is looking for seniors Kevin Gossman, Matthew Nagaj and Thomas Miranda to step up and fill the shoes of the varsity players Cary-Grove graduated.

Dundee-Crown

Bob Sweeney, in his 20th season with the Chargers, has senior Jared Russell back after he qualified for sectionals last year. Seniors Grant Meyer, Ethan Ward and Kai Klancnik also saw some varsity action while Joey Impastato, Adrian Hernandez and Brady McBreen are newcomers to watch. Sweeney said Ward has improved greatly over the summer and forms a solid top two with Russell, and the challenge will be finding two more posted scores.

Elgin

Maroons coach Garrett Mazade is looking for his players to improve this season and grow their love of the game. That group includes seniors Aarav Patel, Brayden Downing, Justin Flores Mendez and Julian Sims-Cabrera, and juniors Ryan Steckbeck and Kyle Phimmavong.

Fenton

Juniors Peter Anagnos and Logan Krajecki should be the top golfers for the Bison, whose overall numbers for coach Cameron Kopp's program continue to grow.

Geneva

The Vikings return all six players from last year’s team that finished seventh at the Class 3A state tournament and won a regional title: seniors Brandon Burggraf, Ryan O’Rourke and Timmy Adkins, juniors Logan Novay and Matt Trimble, and sophomore Blake Makowski. Coach Eric Hatczel also likes a few new additions who will add to the depth of the roster.

Glenbard East

Senior Connor Peckham is the top returning player for the Rams, who have eight graduated seniors to replace.

Glenbard South

The Raiders have a goal of winning the Upstate Eight title behind a solid senior class.

Ethan Noellsch leads that group after a strong summer tournament season. Coach Phil Yudys said he hasn't had a harder working player than Noellsch, an all-conference selection who missed qualifying for state by one shot.

Senior Frankie Abate also made all-conference while the Raiders welcome in a record number of underclassmen.

Glenbard West

Junior Ivan Blood, a 2023 state qualifier, leads the Hilltoppers who also bring back junior Tayber Samatas, a sectional qualifier, and junior Brian Bare to compete against a tough WSC Silver Division led by Hinsdale Central and Lyons Township.

Hampshire

The Whip-Purs feature senior Seth Gillie and junior Nolan Adamczyk, both all-FVC players a year ago who coach Jeremy Bauer called two of the best returning players in the area. Gillie also qualified for state last year while Adamczyk has lowered his score this summer. Bauer is excited to see how some of his newcomers contribute.

Harvest Christian

Liam Lodding, Josh Smerek and Owen Foster return. Lodding tied for second at the Class 1A state tournament last year as a sophomore, shooting a 72-73 for a two-day total of 145. As a team, the Lions missed qualifying for state by just two shots, and they return four varsity players this year.

Hinsdale South

Seniors Devin Cabello and Dominic Rallo and junior Ryan Salvereddy top the lineup for coach John Richerson's Hornets.

Huntley

Senior Taig Bhathal is the Red Raiders' best returning player, finishing third at the FVC championship at McHenry Country Club last year. Coach Collin Kalamatas said Bhathal also played well this summer in IJGA events, including a fourth-place finish at Bartlett Hills where he shot a 73. He's been consistently in the mid- to low-70s all summer. While Bhathal is the only returning varsity player, Kalamatas likes the guys competing for spots in the rotation, and that they might have a new lineup every week with the amount of depth and parity in the program.

Jacobs

The Golden Eagles are one of the more experienced teams as they aim for a Fox Valley Conference championship. Senior Barrett Rennell is a three-time sectional qualifier and three-time all-conference player. Senior Braden Behrens and sophomore Chase Garden also made all-conference. Seniors Noah Deremo and Luke Johnson were sectional qualifiers while freshman Logan Henning enters with plenty of success in youth tournaments.

Coach Gary Conrad said last year's team surprised him with the strides they made, which leads to optimism this fall will be the best golf at Jacobs since their 2014-18 teams. Reaching the state tournament for the first time is another goal.

Kaneland

The Knights graduated seven seniors, and of the four returnees, only Brayden Seaton played varsity last year. Seaton has taken 10 strokes off his score from last year and promises to anchor a strong, multi-year roster. Coach Mark Davoust liked what he saw from his freshmen at tryouts this week including Dylan Pjesky, who earned top honors over 36 tryout holes by shooting a two-day total of 160. Ricky Becker and Ty Nied also played well as freshmen. Juniors Jacob Yost and Jack Frey are returning players who will make their varsity debuts.

Lake Park

Three players from the Lancers' sectional team are back: Jake Lesniak, Gavin O'Neil and Adin Patel. Senior Cole Matson also will be a key part of the lineup, and coach Tim Moran said a talented junior class that includes Patel and Abhi Patel had strong showings this summer in tournament play.

Larkin

Seniors Jack Johnson and Spencer Perry plus senior newcomers Ivan Gonzalez and Aiden Reinheimer lead the Royals, whose lover level numbers are growing. Larkin lost the individual conference winner Maison Preuss and is looking for somebody to fill his shoes.

Marmion

Senior Regan Konen will look to defend his 2A state championship coming off a great summer. He hasn't committed to a college yet but will play at the Division I level according to coach Lou Solarte.

Marmion senior and four-year letterman Evan Paganelis has made strides this summer and also hopes to play college golf.

Metea Valley

Seniors Rahil Shah and Armaan Shah provide experience for the Mustangs. Seniors Caleb Hoskins, Tyler Wallace and Arnav Narasipura are mostly new to the varsity; coach Pat Brusveen said the group works hard and is excited to see their growth in their final year.

Montini

Junior Charlie Paciga came in second at the IPGA Jr stroke play event at Bryn Mar this summer. Senior Mario Palmero has gone from shooting in the 100s freshman year to the high 70s. Coach Ben Michelon said this year's goal is winning a regional.

Naperville Central

The Redhawks won the past two DuPage Valley titles in undefeated fashion, and they have four of their top six back. Coach Barry Baldwin said all four played well in summer tournaments as they try to lead Naperville Central a state berth.

Sophomores Ryan Kong and Graeme Cavanagh were both unanimous all-conference. Juniors Clayton Schaeffer and Zach Boyton were in the top six last year while seniors Alex Ung and Nate Taverna add depth to the lineup.

Naperville North

Seniors Will Nelson, Dylan Kaiman and JT Schmitt are back for the Huskies along with sophomores Trevor Schmidt and Zach Zafar. Coach Ryan Hantak is excited about the mixture of senior leaders and young talent.

Neuqua Valley

Senior Ryan Watson enters as the Wildcats' No. 1 after lowering his handicap index this summer to .9.

After graduating three seniors, Neuqua will need players like junior Drew Allen and sophomores Brady Chung and Daniel Zhang to step up. Coach Bart Carbonneau said Allen has the potential for a big year while both Chung and Zhang are coming off impressive freshman seasons.

South Elgin

The Storm is looking to defend its Upstate Eight championship behind three returning varsity players: Bradley Kamarauskas, Rocco Petter and Emmett Hanson.

St. Charles East

Junior Anthony Solare and sophomore Aarnav Patel qualified for sectionals last year. Coach William Farquhar said the Saints have had a young team the past few years, and that group should make this year’s version competitive in the DuKane Conference.

Waubonsie Valley

Coach Eric Flodberg has six seniors to replace and will turn to returnees Tommy Putnum, Aanish Kamdar and all-conference players Avi Khanduja and Adam Torreon to be at the top of his lineup. Flodberg liked the work this group put in during the summer season.

West Aurora

Jake Anderson had a disappointing end to a great all-conference sophomore season, shooting a 73 at sectionals but missing out in the playoff to go to state. Senior Jake Niedzwiedz also is back after an all-conference season. Coach John Proczko said senior Chase Yusi should provide strong leadership, junior Logan Bacarella is a talented newcomer and seniors Cameron Smith and Ethan Kolich are out to finish their high school careers with solid seasons as West Aurora returns to the Upstate Eight looking to make a splash in the new conference.

West Chicago

Joseph McCollum takes over for retired coach Rich Kost. He'll look to junior Andrew Ruszczak and seniors Nick Temes and Brayden Munter in his first season.

Wheaton North

Coach Michael Pribaz called this one of the deepest teams the Falcons have fielded anchored by junior James Gaither, seniors Kaden Fisher and Trey Hubner, and junior Henry Schlickman.

Wheaton Warrenville South

The Tigers tied for fifth at the Class 3A state tournament last year and have a couple key players back.

Senior Callan Fahey shot a 151 at the two-day tournament to tie for 12th invidiously, and fellow senior Charlie Gilligan was a couple strokes back at 153 to tie for 20th.

Junior Michael Johansen also is back from that team along with four more returnees, which should make the Tigers again one of the best in the state.

Willowbrook

All-West Suburban Conference golfer Austin Coppersmith, a sectional qualifier, is the top golfer for Gary Walker's Warriors.